A very enjoyable puzzle today. The theme requires everyday knowledge rather than specialist academic knowledge, so don’t let that put you off. Thank you Gozo.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BASILICA |
It’s quartz, to a degree (8)
|
| SILICA (quartz) following (to, put next to) BA (a degree) | ||
| 5 | CHALET |
Honour a lease (6)
|
| CH (Companion of Honour) A LET (lease) | ||
| 9 | SEMINARY |
Changed in 1000 years (8)
|
| anagram (changed) of IN M (1000, Roman numeral) YEARS | ||
| 10 | BISTRO |
Writer crosses street (6)
|
| BIRO (writer) contains (crosses) ST (street) | ||
| 12 | CABIN |
Cases with drop of bubbly, fashionable (5)
|
| CA (cases) with Bubbly (first letter, drop of) and IN (fashionable) | ||
| 13 | LAWCOURTS |
Crawls out, stunned (3,6)
|
| anagram (stunned) of CRAWLS OUT | ||
| 14 | BED-SIT |
Small county with appeal (3-3)
|
| BEDS (Bedfordshire abbreviated, small county) with IT (appeal, eg sex appeal) | ||
| 16 | MILK-BAR |
Chocolate kid loses last drop of energy (4-3)
|
| MILKyBAR (the Milkybar Kid, from chocolate marketing) missing energY (last letter, last drop of) | ||
| 19 | ICE RINK |
Nicer in Kensington? Just a bit (3,4)
|
| found inside (just a bit of) nICER IN Kensington | ||
| 21 | CLINIC |
Hospital not quite secure, one admitted (6)
|
| CLINCh (secure, not quite finished) contains I (one) – a bonus definition here | ||
| 23 | TRATTORIA |
Top-quality crumble and pastry rejected (9)
|
| AI (A1, top quality) ROT (crumble) and TART (pastry) all reversed (rejected) | ||
| 25 | LODGE |
Daughter seen in theatre box (5)
|
| D (daughter) inside LOGE (theatre box) | ||
| 26 | CHAPEL |
Tea ladies initially accept leaders of Private Eye (6)
|
| CHA (tea) with Ladies (first letter, initially) contains (accept) first letters (leaders) of Private Eye | ||
| 27 | HACIENDA |
Had a nice trip (8)
|
| anagram (trip) of HAD A NICE | ||
| 28 | SHANTY |
Modest accommodation for worker (6)
|
| SHY (modest) contains (accommodation for) ANT (a worker) | ||
| 29 | BETHESDA |
Daughter appearing in H E Bates novel (8)
|
| D (daughter) inside anagram (novel) of H E BATES – a church building | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BASICS |
Graduates in charge point to brass tacks (6)
|
| BAS (BAs graduates) IC (in charge) S (south, point of compass) | ||
| 2 | SEMIBREVE |
Note book in suburban home always turns up (9)
|
| B (book) inside SEMI (suburban home) with EVER (always) reversed (turns up) | ||
| 3 | LINEN |
Brand new bedclothes? (5)
|
| LINE (brand) N (new) | ||
| 4 | CIRCLET |
Sorceress tailed hired band (7)
|
| CIRCe (sorceress, from Ulysses) missing last letter (tailed) then LET (hired) | ||
| 6 | HOI POLLOI |
Orthodox Greek masses (3,6)
|
| a cryptic definition? The phrase is Greek. | ||
| 7 | LATER |
Not yet? Dead right (5)
|
| LATE (dead) R (right) | ||
| 8 | TROUSERS |
Bags a pair? (8)
|
| double/cryptic definition – bags are trousers, so a “pair of bags” is still the same as just “bags”, both singular. Also: trousers and bags both slang for earns/acquires | ||
| 11 | SWIM |
Bits of salami were in Mexican dip (4)
|
| first letters (bits) of Salami Were In Mexican | ||
| 15 | SHIFTIEST |
Most deceitful fetishist wriggling (9)
|
| anagram (wriggling) of FETISHEST | ||
| 17 | BUILDINGS |
They’re put up around Dublin and Sligo. Look out! (9)
|
| anagram (around) of DUBLIN and SlIGo missing LO (look) – the theme | ||
| 18 | TIN TACKS |
Small nails on shade spoilt cask (3,5)
|
| TINT (shade) then anagram (spoilt) of CASK | ||
| 20 | KIRK |
Douglas King having trouble (4)
|
| K (king) with IRK (trouble) – Kirk Douglas actor, and a kirk is a church building | ||
| 21 | CHARADE |
Cary Grant film poster within reach perhaps (7)
|
| AD (poster) inside anagram (perhaps) of REACH | ||
| 22 | NEVADA |
State limits of New Hampshire, Virginia and Dakota (6)
|
| outer letters (limits) of other states: New hampshirE, VirginiA and DakotA | ||
| 24 | AQABA |
Part of Iraq: a battle-zone port (5)
|
| found inside (part of) irAQ A BAttle-zone – port city in Jordan | ||
| 25 | LEITH |
A part of Edinburgh Castle, I think – only a part (5)
|
| found inside (only a part) castLE I THink |
This was fun! Got the theme well before confirmation of 17dn… which helped a lot.. altho getting the def in 21ac had me nervous for quite a while.. mind I thought Bethesda was a pool?
Thanks Gozo n Peedee
Undrell @1. According to Chambers, Bethesda can also be a non-conformist Church building.
I found 21a annoying. The rubric clearly states that the across clues lack a thematic definition leading you to think the solution is likely to begin with H.
In 8d, I took bags = trousers in the verbal sense.
I learnt a few things, including the Greek origin of HOI POLLOI and that a BETHESDA can be a church building. I didn’t notice it at the time, but I wonder why the thematic def. was included for 21a. Probably being thick, but I still don’t see CA for ‘cases’.
An enjoyable and accessible solve.
Thanks to Gozo and PeeDee
WordPlodder @3. Ca for “cases” was another look up in Chambers for me. Don’t know in what context it is used though.
Like Undrell, I enjoyed this a lot and was wise to the theme early on. Liked SHIFTIEST and TROUSERS best, the latter for reminding me of soul-bowling in Oxford bags.
Thanks to Gozo, a reliable source of fun word wizardry, and to PeeDee for the freat blog.
Thanks Gozo and PeeDee
WordPlodder@3 re 12ac: ca for cases is in Chambers (2014), but I am not sure that it is common enough to use in a daily cryptic, especially in a clue lacking a definition.
Great, not freat, blog!
Same as above, the def in 21a was rather strange. I would also like to know how to get CA from cases.
In the blog, for 28a you no doubt mean SHY (modest).
In 21a, could “Hospital not quite” mean to drop the “h” from “clinch”, rather than just “not quite”?
Thanks Diane, fixed now.
I imagine ca for cases used in a wholesale context, a stocktake in a wine cellar or warehouse:
Chateau Treschere 1932 – 20 ca
Domaine Superprix 1978 – 41 ca
etc
Just a guess!
Thanks to Gozo and PeeDee. Great fun. I did not know MILKy BAR or BETHESDA as a building (though that and HACIENDA were my first across clues parsed) and the “orthodox” linked to HOI POLLOI made me pause for a while.
Re the Hospital definition in 21ac : the instructions only state that the across clues lack thematic definitions. This does not specifically exclude across clues having a non-thematic definition. It does look odd though with 21ac having a definition when all the other across clues do not. It leaves the impression of something not following the rules.
PeeDee @13. I agree that the definition in 20d is non-thematic, so doesn’t break the instructions but how can “hospital” be considered non-thematic?
I think 21a is just an editorial error. “Not quite secure, one admitted” seems like a lovely clue and I think it should have been that.
Nevetheless, a fair crossword and I had fun (which is the point, really)
Hovis @14 – D’oh! I didn’t think of a hospital as a building, just as a medical institution. Forget what I said @13, it definitely does count as a thematic definition.
Privately I am inclined to believe Adriana @15 that it is an editorial mistake, a hangover form an earlier draft, but I have been left with egg on my face too many times now from declaring things as “errors” only to later find that they have an explanation that I hadn’t thought of.
Thanks Gozo and PeeDee
I need convincing that a bed-sit is a building.
Thanks Hovis@2! …and PeeDee@11, I certainly accept that def for ‘ca’..! I’ve probably even got a couple of invoices with something similar..
That was fun and made less daunting by getting the theme very early in the process — thanks, Gozo. I failed to get BED-SIT, being unfamiliar with that term and I did not know KIRK as a church building, only as the actor. Thanks PeeDee for the blog.
Completed relatively speedily by my standards. Hospital in 21a held me up and was one of my last few in. Never heard of Cases as ca.
I generally like Gozo, though occasionally quickly give up because the theme or idea is either too obscure or too contrived for my taste. But this was a pretty good one, though some of the buildings seemed more “building-like” than others. Eg. An ice rink need not be a building, and Bed-sit a bit iffy.
I don’t understand the “orthodox Greek” clue, though the answer was obvious from the crossers.
Thanks Gozo and PeeDee
Finished in a couple of sessions, but had misread the rubric and thought that the theme was around KIRK which meant some head scratching to what all of the across words were heading toward. Fortunately my partner with one quick look said that they were all BUILDINGS and a re-read and finding 17d made much more sense of things.
Interesting to see CHARADE make a second appearance in as many days and it was my last one in, never having seen or heard of the movie.
I’ve been liking Gozo more of late.
Us Talking Heads fans wouldnt mind one themed on food and buildings(would SUBMARINE fit both?)
Thank you, PeeDee et al.
21ac seems inconsistent with the instructions to me as well.
Also got confused thinking of trattoria and bistro as types of restaurants not buildings, at least here in the U.S. A couple others are also not always ‘buildings’ either.
Still very good puzzle. Than you Gozo.